I had to get the German Peralta New Mutants cover.
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Issue opens with a flashback sequence with Dani and the New Mutants – Magik, Warlock, Warpath, two other people, one being a green lady. Dani is fighting / training with Anole.
Dani’s mind then goes to a battle of the Valkyries. One she wasn’t present for. Turns out she is in the mind of Hildr, someone who died at the blade of Dainsleif, the same blade that Kyron stabbed her with last issue.
Kian is doing his best to keep Dani from dying in the present time.
Dainsleif is taking the form of Hildr to try to get some information from Dani’s subconscious. Thankfully, Dani is a telepath, so she can control this memory road. Dani also keeps referring to herself as an empath, and I’m not sure about that, but sure. Maybe that explains her side of her bond with Wolfsbane?
Dani is now fighting Dainsleif / Hildr at Xavier’s Mansion, so we get an awesome sequence of the original New Mutants fighting the threat. I could have easily gone for an entire issue of this setting.
Hildr finally finds what she is looking for, Dani’s parents location. Dani can now access Kyron’s perspective, as he makes his way to her parents’ house. A real shame these two have been secretly safe for decades, and as soon as we remember they exist, they are in danger. Someone should probably be routinely checking in on Havok’s adoptive parents. But then again, someone would have to think of Havok to then think to threaten them.
Kyron is hoping that Dani leaves his mind soon, as no child should see their parents get murdered.
Kian finally gets Dani to wake up, and he uses a teleportation disk to get them to Colorado. We learn his body isn’t built for magic, but he never expected to live long.
Dani’s parents, of course, are not there, and issue ends with poor Dani having to make a cruel choice, stop Kyron, or save her parents.
Though I imagine her parents are with Kyron, so it isn’t like she has to choose two different locations.
Actually, maybe they are, as Kyron’s map has two locations. One of them being a tablet that we saw in Giant-Size Amazing Spider-Man : King’s Ransom, a great editor note from Darren Shan. That is one long title.
W Ashley Allen / A German Peralta / CA Arthur Helsi / L VC’s Ariana Maher / V Nogi San
I got the Nogi San variant cover, as it was the solo Magik cover. I’m that guy.
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The Rasputin Household. UST-Ordynsky Collective. Russia. Then.
Illyana has returned from the events of Uncanny X-Men 160, and the heartbreaking events of the original Magik miniseries. Piotr has brought her to re-introduce her to their parents.
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Their parents are naturally confused to see a teenage Illyana, as I can only imagine less than a week or month ago, they probably talked to her on the phone and she was barely eight.
I can only imagine, Piotr has NOT kept them updated on all of his zany adventures, as yes, this is super shocking, but also, his life is crazy. Now, could he have called them ahead of time? Yes. Should he have called them ahead of time? Also, yes. It IS fun to answer questions. If you have any questions, ask them below.
I imagine this takes place after Magik V1 4, when she tries to meet her parents a second time. They must have forgotten this first attempt, OR! This current (?) scene reinforces the original scene.
“Baba Yaga’s” House. West Siberian Taiga, Russia. Now.
I really do like how they address that Lada is not actually Baba Yaga, as anyone who also read Wiccan Witch’s Road 5, out two weeks ago (maybe?), Baba Yaga showed up there, so we thought there this was the beginning of a huge comeback for the character. Turns out, Kaoz just likes calling her that, as that’s what the children called her, as she’s a witch who lives in the woods. Not the most original of nicknames.
Lada is, however, the sister of Korschei, the big bad of this miniseries, and who we fully met last issue. Nice how this miniseries is dealing with siblings, it is a theme, everybody.
Naturally, Lada is annoyed with Kaoz, and the was caught off guard by the Rasputin siblings, so a fight breaks out.
I like seeing Lada open her own portal to deal with Magik, though it is triggering as Illyana has a lousy history of dealing with other people’s portals.
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Colossus gets a cool moment of depowering, so that he can use Lada’s transformed size against her, and flips her over. He has strategies.
I like how annoyed he is Magik mentions how her and Cyclops dealt with a situation similar to this, so she is trying to take charge of the situation. These two really do have a lot of issues to work out, so they don’t have great communication skills. Also, they are rarely on the same team together, so they don’t have battle experience together. There is no field trust.
Kaoz finally calms things down with Lada.
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Honestly, the entire miniseries could just be Illyana and Piotr talking about everyone they know in common. I guess we have to stop referring to Illyana and Scott as siblings, as she doesn’t view it that way. They’re best friends. Which I simply love Illyana saying that about Scott, as they really are. Ever since the Bendis era of Uncanny (V3) they have been written as best friends. Gillen got them on the same Uncanny team (V2), Cyclops’ Extinction Team, but Bendis really made them pals. They have been best friends ever since, really.
Piotr is still dealing with his guilt over killing Kayla, though it was his body that did it, not his mind, but he’ll still have guilt about it. Nice to see him dealing with grief, and anything relating to the Krakoa era.
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I love Allen and Peralta so much for crafting this story that we get the best hug of 2026!
Helsi and Maher color and letter, respectfully, the heck out of this page.
Seeing the hug triggers Lada to think about her growing up with Koschei. He’s a bad dude. He is also like a Russian Voldemort, in that he’s breaking up his soul into random items. One of those items is Lada’s necklace. She’s keeping a piece of his soul, so that he can’t ever become too powerful.
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Kaoz has a very cool chat with Colossus. Kaoz really respects Magik, as he should. They chat about the concept of putting a piece of one’s soul in an item. Colossus would never do that to Magik to control or stop her. Kaoz mentions how he would never need to do that, as Magik doesn’t trust him with a piece of her soul, she rather put it inside of a weapon. Which is such a powerful line.
Though looking at this panel now, I’m pretty sure this is when the Koschei swap takes place. I didn’t think so because of Kaoz’s love of referring to himself in the third person.
I really do love how both Magik & Colossus are still covered in mud from their earlier fight.
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The Rasputins truly are always taking one step back. Piotr ponders what if Limbo didn’t happen, if they were not mutants. Illyana is so bored with this conversation. I imagine Kitty probably attempted it once, and never again, whereas, I feel like I’ve seen Piotr attempt this conversation multiple times. Illyana is Magik. Illyana is the Darkchild. Limbo did happen. I’m sure the idea of What If grew old during her first year of Limbo, and the abuse she suffered at the hands of S’ym and Belasco. She doesn’t ever have to wonder about that question.
We get the Koschei was Kaoz reveal. Magik tries to attack him, but he overpowers her. I’m sure it was because of the shock of the situation. Koschei takes Lada’s powers, as he does that.
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Issue ends with Koschei attacking the Rasputins.
Is the final issue goes to just be a battle sequence?
The Rasputin Household. UST-Ordynsky Collective. Russia. Then.
Young Piotr is getting super bullied, which I don’t care for. Mama Rasputina, who we never really got much of before, needs to toughen up her middle child.
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Possibly the youngest we have ever seen Illyana?
Now.
Illyana is in an arena, being run by Koschei, who is trying to absorb magik.
I like how smart Illyana is, that she knows that’s the plan, so she’s just punching and kicking goons, and doing quite well for herself.
Then Magik has to fight . . . Count Kaoz, who seemed very familiar with me, and I wasn’t sure if we were going to get an editor note telling us where we know him from. He made his first appearance in Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo’s Doctor Strange V4 7, part of the Last Days of Magic arc, that I own many issues of. Which I’m sure whenever we get Doctor Strange 3, would be the storyline I’ll cover on the pod.
The Lucky Bear. St. Petersburg, Russia. Piotr is hassling some goons in hopes they’ll lead him to where Illyana is. I like that we get a Mikail reference here, that’s how Piotr knows who to talk to in the Russian criminal underground.
Colossus, one of the few guys who can headbutt a fool, and not also take damage doing so.
I love Magik & Kaoz’s chemistry so much! They are in danger, but they’re not in serious danger, so they are having fun.
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Colossus breaks through the barrier, and starts helping out. Did I need four pages of Colossus getting closer to Magik? No, show us that he’s on the right track, and then surprise us with the reveal. That’s such great pacing.
Colossus rips off a demon cow’s head, that’s pretty intense. Anyone start watching Primate now on Paramount Plus? We thought the trailer looked good, and been eager for it to start streaming somewhere. We got to the first scare, a gorilla ripping off some dude’s face, and Walker D noped out. I should try to go back, but it is hard to watch a movie by myself. The demon cow wasn’t as intense as that.
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Magik does not want to end up back in Florida.
The trio leaves, and Koschei takes it pretty well.
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I love so much the three pages we get of Illyana and Piotr sharing their feelings, I just love them communicating. It was worth the effort.
I also love so much that Illyana takes after her mother. If this entire miniseries was to make us love Mama Rasputina, then mission accomplish!
Count Kaoz is leading the Rasputins to his ex-girlfriend’s house. His ex-girlfriend being . . . Baba Yaga. Who is NOT happy to see Kaoz.
Such a great issue! Well, besides that clear cliffhanger final page, but we’ll get there. I thought I misremembered Allen’s tease of Dani maybe getting a love interest in this series, and we only have Kian as an option right now. Yanisa is dead, though maybe she can come back? Kyron is definitely not an option.
Dani and Kian are looking for an artifact that Kyron probably will need if he needs a larger container to keep souls in. Kian says some hurtful things about wishing Dani had died instead of Yanisa, which seems a bit much, but he is grieving. I love so much that Dani doesn’t take it. She understands it, but she sets a real boundary.
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As they approach the alter, he zombie goon grips Dani’s ankle, and we get a very fun insert panel with a “grip” sound effect. I love this so much.
Kian embarrasses himself but not regrouping with Dani, causing himself to almost fall to his death, but Dani catches him. He’s completely silent, as he’s very embarrassed.
Then in very quick succession, Kian saves Dani, and she blushes when he accuses her of being embarrassed. So, maybe I like these two just a little bit? I wouldn’t say they have fun chemistry, or any chemistry, but sometimes intense experiences creates a relationship. They never work.
Kyron finally arrives, but makes a foolish mistake of taking the form of Dani’s beloved grandfather. She would have been in shock, but Kyron is talking complete nonsense, and she starts attacking him. Kyron does share his origin story, and his sister’s death, which is motivating his current actions.
Since he has to take a soul before he can sheathe is sword, he takes Dani’s. I don’t like that. Great issue besides that little detail.
No Magik references, but we did get Dani thinking about the X-Men.
A real shame this came out the same week as X-Men United, as it would have won any other week for me.
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Lake Baikal, Russia. Then. Illyana and Piotr are fishing with their father. Pitor isn’t very good at it, and Illyana wants a turn. She says he’s being mean, and he starts crying. So, they have always been this way.
I like her father calling her, sunshine, a nice contrast to Piotr’s snowflake.
Lake Baikal, Russia. Now. Magik explains to Colossus why they can’t just teleport. Magik is tracking the magical signature of whoever is Lady Midday’s boss.
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I could have gone an entire issue of just these two on the train together. I like how, even with her brother, Illyana is calculated enough to make sure she’s only being surface level. In a game of Eye Spy, she’s going to pick literally the first thing she sees. She’s always been this way.
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Once again, if there’s any character that needed a refresh, it is Colossus. He’s still carrying his Krakoa baggage. Illyana tries to soothe him, one can’t keep living in the past. She mentions Belasco, and her lack of a childhood, which will pay off expertly later in the issue.
St. Petersburg, Russia. I like Piotr stopping for some halva. He hasn’t had any in a while. He’s still not one to talk, and she matches his energy. These siblings are fun to watch.
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The two of them are attacked by mermaids. They take Magik into the water.
They keep gabbing at her, and I like the attention to detail that she can’t respond to them, as she’ll get a mouthful of water. But, how do the mermaids talk? Are they not getting mouthfuls of water? I get the water goes into their mouths, and out through the gills, but would they still be able to talk? They must, as they always do, but that’s a thought I hadn’t had until now.
Magik comes up for some air. She heads back down, and takes out a mermaid with the Wraithsword, one of her two options for a pickaxe in Fortnite.
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She comes back up for some more air, and asks Colossus to give her a rope. He thinks it is to pull her up, but she has other plans.
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I like how she knows enough magik spells, that she has access to non verbal ones, and takes out all of the mermaids.
Colossus is upset that he thought he lost her, but there wasn’t time to discuss the entire plan. Also, he’s a bit slow.
They come across a Bannik. He informs them that they are up against The Immortal. A character name the Legal department must have loved to clear. Marvel’s The Immortal. The Immortal is making deals with the magik folk, and once the siblings are taken care of, they won’t have to live in hiding anymore. Which is a bit odd in the Marvel Universe, where people of all types and sizes exist on the surface level, is a mermaid that much more to ask about?
They are directed to a nearby church. Colossus makes the poor decision to guard the front, like, okay pal. Magik goes inside, to look for a relic that will help them locate The Immortal. There’s a cloaked old man, who is quick to bind Magik, and Colossus finally comes in.
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But he’s too late as Magik falls down into a portal. Which has to cause Colosuss, and me, a bit of anxiety as the last time he witness her going down into a portal, she came back aged by seven years.
I love this issue so much! I treated myself to the Benjamin Su variant cover, with Dani (and a giant wolf I don’t recognize), reading Stephanie Phillips’ first issue of her Daredevil run.
Issue opens with a history of the Dainsleif sword, created by dwarves of Nidavellir. Its curse is it demands a kill before it can be sheathed.
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We get a nice recap of Magik’s ongoing series that Dani was a co-star of. We get quite a bit of Magik in this series, which I was hoping for, but I was sold on this series regardless.
Present day, we see Dani riding Brightwind, and I just love that we get a mutant powered, and Valkyrie powered Dani Moonstar. She’s not powerless here.
We get a recap of her New Mutants days. We see her parents, who I would have sworn were dead. Their spirits were trapped in the Demon Bear, and I thought they were released, as I never see her talk to her parents, or hear from her parents, or even discuss them. I was expecting a final page reveal that they were figments of her imagination, but nope, they’re alive and very well.
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I like Dani referring to Illyana as her best friend. It definitely feels like her and Rahne haven’t been as close since . . . forever, maybe?
With Immortal Thor’s 25th issue, no one remembers Asgard, which seems odd as isn’t Thor flying around? Or part of Avengers history? I’m sure Mortal Thor is handling all of these questions. I’m curious, but not curious enough to look into it. I’m sure time will be restored.
Yanisa and Kian from the Society Dani was working with, and who Dani and Magik brought down, arrive. They need Dani’s help with retrieving Dainsleif.
It was teased that we were going to get a romantic interest for Dani in this series, so I immediately thought it might be Yanisa.
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Yanisa asks if Dani still has access to the teleporter mutant. She’s so much more than that!
Instead of enlisting her, Brightwind seats three.
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We get another flashback to Magik & Dani fighting the Society.
We meet the threat of the series, Kyron, who has a mystical artifact that he’s trying to bring this cities dead to him, to power up Dainsleif.
Yanisa and Kian rush into battle with Kyron, leaving Dani with only a poor decision to get into the fight sooner than she would have liked to. Yanisa sacrifices herself so that Dani and Kian can get away.
Which leaves Kian as the guy who will be having feelings for Dani, but that doesn’t mean Dani is going to return those feelings.
Kyron needs a new artifact, and Dani has an idea of what he will need, so they have a next step to follow.
I love this comic so much! If any X-Man needed a redemption arc, it is Colossus. Ashley Allen, German Peralta, Arthur Helsi, and VC’s Ariana Maher brought me my favorite comic of 2026, well, until X-Men United gives it a run for its money.
Issue opens with Colossus having a bit of a nightmare. Once again, Illyana tells Piotr that she hates the “Snowflake” nickname, but it sticks this time – which I really appreciate.
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Nightmare ends with Colossus in a grave with the great loves of his life – Kitty Pryde (in her Exceptional outfit, which I love), Domino (huge shout outs for remembering her!), Nightcrawler, so his Excalibur crew, a guy in a trench coat, maybe Black Tom? Then two lady skeletons I don’t recognize.
Colossus is being hunted by some magical threats in Russia, which seems like what he should be doing is going to ghost towns instead of currently habited farms, as people are getting hurt. Magik finally locates him, she hasn’t seen him since the Hellfire Vigil, and they do a quick catch up.
I do like how this comic hits the highs of Colossus, that he will be the one to make the sacrificial play, and break a neck if he has too. More on that later.
This does feel like Magik’s ongoing, but now with 100% more Colossus. I do like how this first issue opens with a dream sequence, just like Magik’s first issue. Also, we saw a dead Kitty Pryde there too. Oh, Ashley Allen, why are you having German Peralta do this to Pryde Nation?!
They go back to their parents’ farm house, and it is so charming that Piotr immediately starts thinking he can live here again with Magik. Like buddy, that hasn’t been her home in years. And I’m sure whenever she tries to conjure a childhood memory, it is always ALWAYS tainted by her thoughts immediately going to Limbo soon after. That, or her parents were murdered there, while she hid under a bed scared out of her mind.
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They come across a child who freaks out as Colossus is covered in blood. Magik makes Colossus more presentable, but at the cost of his glorious beard. Which is my sole criticism of this issue. Why did we have to lose his beard?!
We learn the current threat is Lady Midday, she, of course, has a bigger boss. There’s always a bigger fish. A proper legend, which is fun pull.
Lady Midday allows Magik to defeat her in the first round, as now she knows Illyana’s strengths – of which, she has many.
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To combat her fully, she creates four elemental versions of her. I am such a sucker for elemental threats. We get Earth, Wind, & Fire, with Water. Wind immediately takes Magik’s breath away, and as a verbal spell caster, prevents some moves on Magik’s part.
Magik comes up with a plan. Colossus makes for good bait, they want him anyway. She essentially gets the elements to take each other out. Proper Lady Midday arrives, to taunt them, and Colossus is just done.
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Colossus Riptides Lady Midday. Magik sees her magic signature float away, but allows Colossus to think he got this win.
Issue ends with the Big Bad, and the editorial page refers to him as The Immortal. I imagine we’ll learn more about him next issue as we go to St. Petersburg.
What. A. Great. Comic! I love this.
BlueSky amigo, and great follow, Project Legacy X informed me that the blonde with the headbane is Kayla from Krakoa.
Would have been good to see Nereel in there, or Zsaji.
Magik’s first issue of her first ongoing came out on January 8, 2025.
Writer : Ashley Allen
Artist German Peralta
Color Artist : Arthur Helsi
Letterer : VC’s Ariana Maher
I treated myself to the David Nakayama cover.
Ashley Allen wrote the incredible Blood Hunt : Magik ongoing (thus, earned the right to write Magik’s ongoing).
German Peralta drew the Age of X-Man : Prisoner X is where I recognize his work from, and Cable 155 – 159.
Issue opens with someone chasing someone else down a street in Juneau, Alaska.
We see Magik was having a nightmare. I love that Kitty Pryde and Dani Moonstar are there. I imagine Beast is there as he’s currently on X-MEN with her. Cyclops and her are best buds, so that makes sense too. Illyana has a closer tie to the Storm who existed with her from her origin mini series, Magik & Storm. Events that occur there are the main reasons I like to think of why Magik & Storm are not that close. Even though they served together on Kieron GIllen’s Uncanny X-Men Volume Two, as part of Cyclops’ Extinction Team. Cannonball represents the boys of New Mutants.
Illyana wakes up, and I absolutely love that she is wearing a, Magneto Was Right shirt. He is her greatest teacher from her original New Mutants days. I also like how she could have easily worn a, Cyclops Was Right shirt but this is a more fun option.
I also adore how she has a New Mutants, original recipe, class photo, and a photo of her and Kitty. So we get that Kitty and her are still close. I thought the picture of Kitty came from Uncanny X-Men 600, because of the gray in her suit, but I think that is something else now.
Be nice if Kitty had a picture of Illyana in her room, but she barely has an origami Lockheed on her shelf, so she’s not decorating her current room with pieces of her past – which is a real shame.
That is further added by the fact that Kitty had called Cyclops to tell him that today is Magik’s birthday.
I also love how this is her birthday, Kid Omega implies she is having a quarter life crisis, so if she’s about 25, that feels right to me. Though Exceptional X-Men Kitty Pryde strikes me as a gal into her 30s, but Illyana could easily be in the 25-28 age range.
Comics disclosure is complicated, but also, Illyana has been de-aged and aged, that she could be floating anywhere from mid-twenties to early-thirties.
So it is her birthday, but also 2025 marks her 50th year in publication, so it works on a meta level as well.
This surprise party goes over better than the one Nico throws her in Midnight Suns. (Starts around the 18 minute mark)
All of the attention is too much for Illyana, and she overhears a news report about missing kids, and like we learned from one of my favorite Uncanny X-Men Volume 3 stories, issue 33, Magik likes to rescue mutants when she’s not busy saving the world.
I do love how quick Cyclops is to explain her quick exit. He completely gets Illyana, and her intimacy issues.
In Juneau, we are introduced to Cal and Ren Isaacs, and their grandmother, Anges – the perfect grandmother name. Someone is hunting mutants, and there are jerk protestors who want these two mutants to leave the city.
Magik arrives, and any new readers are immediately shown Magik’s public persona, as well as get an explanation for her soulword.
Magik deals with the demons, and introduces herself to the Isaacs family. She gets her mission statement to protect the other mutants, and deal with the protesters.
Magik misses one of the students, who turns out to be our big bad, the Crow Demon. Who actually is working for the Liminal – a mysterious new organization.
Allen has set up so many threads to pull for future stories that it is bonkers.
The Crow Demon and Magik get into an intense fight, that we see Magik use her other magical skills, and not just swats at him with her appropriately sized sword.
Unfortunately, while Magik is trying to get her bearings, Crow Demon kills Ren. Agnes is trying her best to create a protection spell.
Unfortunately, we lose Agnes as well.
Magik and Cal have Agnes’ spellbook, and they are going to pursue the Demon Crow.
I like how Cal is aware of his grandmother’s abilities, so it isn’t like Magik has to explain to him how mutants and magic work, separately or together. Magik tells him she will pursue the threat, but he insists on coming along.
And that is the first outstanding issue of Magik’s first ongoing.
I’m excited to see Cal be part of, hopefully, her ever growing supporting cast.
Issue ends with someone prophesizing about Magik’s Darkchild persona, that is on the edge’s of Illyana’s mind.
I can’t wait for issue two. I treated myself to the Mark Brooks cover.
as bitter of a pill as it is 😀
. . .
My only goals for this series is that we get 50 issues of it (at least), and a crossover with Exceptional X-Men, that doesn’t necessarily have to also crossover with X-MEN. Though I can only imagine we will get a Magik – X-MEN – Psylocke crossover eventually, as those are three easy enough books to crossover as they share the same cast members.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 